Octavia Spencer, left, Janelle Monáe and Taraji P. Henson of “Hidden Figures” have an emotional moment as the accept their award for best ensemble. Image courtesy Kevin Winter/Getty.

Actors spurred on by recent events (and perhaps by Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes speech) used the awards stage as a political platform at the Screen Actors Guild Awardson January 29th. Thankfully giving no heed to Donald Trump’s recent comment that “Celebs hurt the cause,” award-winning actors gave impassioned acceptance speeches that ranged from angry criticisms of the president to anecdotes about acceptance to audience appeals. Aston Kutcher set the tone with his opening remarks – he welcomed tv viewers and “everyone in airports that belong in my America…You are a part of the fabric of who we are. And we love you, and we welcome you.” Trump’s recent executive order that bans immigration and travel from seven majority Muslim countries remained the topic of the night.

Julie Louis-Dreyfus was the first to win an award during the ceremony. While claiming the honor for best actress in a comedy series for “Veep” she took some comedic stabs at the election and at Trump’s recent statements about his inauguration audience saying “Whether the Russians did or did not hack the voting of tonight’s SAG Awards, I look out on the million, or probably even a million and a half people in this room, and I say, this award is legitimate, and I won! I’m the winner, the winner is me — landslide!” She then segued into a more serious biographical statement about immigration:

“I want you all to know that I am the daughter of an immigrant. My father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France, and I’m an American patriot. And I love this country. And because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes. This immigrant ban is a blemish, and it is un-American.” -Julia Louis-Dreyfus

When the cast of “Stranger Things” took to the stage to claim the prize for best television drama, star David Harbour used the show’s plot as a metaphor for today, saying, “We 1983 Midwesterners will repel bullies, we will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no homes. We will get past the lies. We will hunt monsters.” Perhaps making a reference to the viral video of White Supremacist Richard Spencer getting hit in the face he concluded his speech with, “When we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy and the casual violence of certain individuals and institutions we will punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the weak and the disenfranchised and the marginalized.”

Upon accepting his award for best supporting film actor for “Moonlight,” Mahershala Ali referenced the storyline of the movie (a coming of age tale about a young boy growing up gay and impoverished in Miami) and his own background to make a moving speech about putting aside differences saying, “You know, when we kind of get caught up in the minutiae, the details that make us all different, I think there’s two ways of seeing that. There’s an opportunity to see the texture of that person, the characteristics that make them unique. And then there’s an opportunity to go to war about it, and to say that that person is different than me, and I don’t like you, so let’s battle. My mother is an ordained minister. I’m a Muslim. She didn’t do back flips when I called her to tell her I converted 17 years ago. But I tell you now, we put things to the side, and I’m able to see her, she’s able to see me — we love each other, the love has grown, and that stuff in minutiae. It’s not that important.”

“Moonlight” was at the center of the biggest upset of the night. The cast lost out to “Hidden Figures” for best ensemble film. Taraji P. Hensen, who starred in the Nasa story, gave an optimistic speech after the win was announced, saying “When we put our differences aside and we come together as a human race, we win, love wins. Every time.”

When Sarah Paulson won for best actress in a television mini-series for “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story,” she used her allotted time to urge people to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union, the organization of lawyers who recently got a New York judge to halt Trump’s executive order. Other actors who gave nods to politics included Bryan Cranston, Emma Stone, and Lily Tomlin who was given a lifetime achievement award. During her speech, she posed a question to the audience, “What sign should I make for the next march?”